*** Official ASUS P5W DH Thread ***

[Quokka]

Originally posted by: phile
Regarding your USB issues, all I know is that you should avoid connecting input devices to the bottom two ports on the rear. Power is never cut to these two ports, in order to allow devices, like the remote, to wake the machine. Is there any way you can connect all your devices without using these two ports? It would be interesting to see if that resolves your issues.

-phil

Sorry, maybe I was not clear enough. After finding out the problem I was having with my external HDD (point 2) I have nothing plugged into either of those 2 rear lower ports.

Problem 1 and 3 exist when I have the devices plugged into the other USB ports.

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: Quokka

Originally posted by: phile
Regarding your USB issues, all I know is that you should avoid connecting input devices to the bottom two ports on the rear. Power is never cut to these two ports, in order to allow devices, like the remote, to wake the machine. Is there any way you can connect all your devices without using these two ports? It would be interesting to see if that resolves your issues.

-phil

Sorry, maybe I was not clear enough. After finding out the problem I was having with my external HDD (point 2) I have nothing plugged into either of those 2 rear lower ports.

Problem 1 and 3 exist when I have the devices plugged into the other USB ports.

Very odd, indeed. I'm somewhat stumped. Your setpoint related problem sounds like a critical failure that causes an automatic restart. You should have a look at the Event Viewer (Control Panel / Administrative Tools), in the Application and System logs. See if there is anything logged at around the time the machine appears to restart. Which version of the setpoint drivers are you using? 310 is the latest.

The problem where you lose the mouse after USB drive disconnect, does this happen regardless of whether or not setpoint drivers are present?

-phil

 

[Quokka]

As for the mouse problem - I've not tried it with the setpoint drivers installed, as they crash my PC, so they were never on there for more than 2mins!

as for the instant restart issue - If I turn off the windows restart on error option, then instead of restarting I get a BSOD, but its not memory related etc - it references a driver/file, but I forget which one (but I remember it was not helpful). I also get an error in the event viewer sometimes, but again, I forget what it references, but I do remember that it was not helpful at all in tracking down the problem.

From googling about a bit, it seems the setpoint instant restart issue is fairly common accross various PC configurations, but as yet no hint of a cause

The odd thing with the USB HDD knocking out my mouse, is that I have two USB external HDDs (different makes) - and I only get this problem with one of them - the other one is fine. Its like its an issue with the design / firmware of the USB drive, - which its not faulty, but the way it works has issues with this mobo.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

Ummm... What is the max multi on a E6600? My old E6600 showed a max of 9 on a P5W with the 1405, the new one I got shows 20 :shocked:. That normal?

 

[mebiuspower]

Sorry for being a nub, but here's my question.

I have a E6600, OCZ 2x1Gb Rev2 DDR2-800 4-4-4-15 and P5W DH 1407 fw.

Current settings:
CPU - FSB333 - DDR667
Ram - Manual - 4-4-4-15
*rest of the BIOS settings are auto*

I'm trying to squeeze a bit more to 3.2Ghz (8xFSB400), but I'm having trouble disabling the C1E after I disabled EIST. I only have the "Auto" option, no disable option at all.

Can somebody please help as to where I can look so I can disable C1E so I can increase the cpu voltage which is currently locked because of C1E? :thumbsup:

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: gamefreakgcb
Ummm... What is the max multi on a E6600? My old E6600 showed a max of 9 on a P5W with the 1405, the new one I got shows 20 :shocked:. That normal?

Be nice if that was true. But no, its 9. You can downclock it but not upclock it.

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: mebiuspower
Sorry for being a nub, but here's my question.

I have a E6600, OCZ 2x1Gb Rev2 DDR2-800 4-4-4-15 and P5W DH 1407 fw.

Current settings:
CPU - FSB333 - DDR667
Ram - Manual - 4-4-4-15
*rest of the BIOS settings are auto*

I'm trying to squeeze a bit more to 3.2Ghz (8xFSB400), but I'm having trouble disabling the C1E after I disabled EIST. I only have the "Auto" option, no disable option at all.

Can somebody please help as to where I can look so I can disable C1E so I can increase the cpu voltage which is currently locked because of C1E? :thumbsup:

You might try resetting BIOS to default settings. See if that helps. Also, I would recommend flashing to BIOS 1503. Any reason why you're lowering the multi to 8? You may find that you need the same voltage as you would with 9, since the BIOS will always POST with the default multiplier, before lowering it.

-phil

 

[mebiuspower]

phil:

I flashed to BIOS 1503 and I was able to find the C1E disable option. However, when I tried to overclock to 3.2ghz it failed to post.

Setting I was attempting to change to:
vCore: 1.350
vFSB: 1.300
Memory Voltage: 2.1
FSB: 400
Mem-Ratio: DDR2-800
CPU-Ratio: 8
Mem Timing: Auto
C1E and Speedstep OFF
Locked PCI Express Frequency locked at 100, PCI Sync Mode at 33.33

Anything I'm doing wrong here? Or should I try bumping the vCore to 1.400?

 

[barmaley]

Approximately every 24hrs my system freezes up and I have to reset the system. Black screen, all fans are running, no reaction on keyboard/mouse/usb devices interactions. I've run Prime95/Ortho test for 7-10 hours without single error/warning as well as Memtest. All the temperatures/voltages looks ok for me
core1 32-45C, core2 35-49C, MB 38-41C, GPU 48-51C everything on stock's speeds. Had a look in EventViewer and didn't find anything happened at the time closer than 2 hrs before freezing
I ran Everest in logging mode today, trying to catch something suspicious and also installed SoftIce and ran it in early boot mode in attempt to see if it can show anything but I rather doubt in any results.
I'm wondering is such behavior can be a result of some problems on PSU side? The reason I'm asking that I did have several hardly explainable things recently.
1. The overvoltage protection (Zener diod) on one of my HDD was blown away
2. For some time the system refused to start after complete power off (turning off the switch on the PSU) but it just disappeared (if I could manage to start the system and did only regular power offs (from the case's switch rather than PSU's switch) then it restarted just fine).

My system
C2D E6600@2.4GHz, P5W DH 1305, 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-667, GigaByte nVidia 7600GS, 4 HDDs (1 SATA300, 3PATA), 1 FDD, 1 DVD-RW,
SeaSonic S12-430, Creative Audigy 2 ZS, bunch of USB devices connected (remote, WebCam, etc.)

TIA

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: mebiuspower
phil:

I flashed to BIOS 1503 and I was able to find the C1E disable option. However, when I tried to overclock to 3.2ghz it failed to post.

Setting I was attempting to change to:
vCore: 1.350
vFSB: 1.300
Memory Voltage: 2.1
FSB: 400
Mem-Ratio: DDR2-800
CPU-Ratio: 8
Mem Timing: Auto
C1E and Speedstep OFF
Locked PCI Express Frequency locked at 100, PCI Sync Mode at 33.33

Anything I'm doing wrong here? Or should I try bumping the vCore to 1.400?

1.35vcore is likely way too low for 400 FSB. My P5WDH/E6600 needs 1.5 just to POST at 400.

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: barmaley
Approximately every 24hrs my system freezes up and I have to reset the system. Black screen, all fans are running, no reaction on keyboard/mouse/usb devices interactions. I've run Prime95/Ortho test for 7-10 hours without single error/warning as well as Memtest. All the temperatures/voltages looks ok for me
core1 32-45C, core2 35-49C, MB 38-41C, GPU 48-51C everything on stock's speeds. Had a look in EventViewer and didn't find anything happened at the time closer than 2 hrs before freezing
I ran Everest in logging mode today, trying to catch something suspicious and also installed SoftIce and ran it in early boot mode in attempt to see if it can show anything but I rather doubt in any results.
I'm wondering is such behavior can be a result of some problems on PSU side? The reason I'm asking that I did have several hardly explainable things recently.
1. The overvoltage protection (Zener diod) on one of my HDD was blown away
2. For some time the system refused to start after complete power off (turning off the switch on the PSU) but it just disappeared (if I could manage to start the system and did only regular power offs (from the case's switch rather than PSU's switch) then it restarted just fine).

My system
C2D E6600@2.4GHz, P5W DH 1305, 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-667, GigaByte nVidia 7600GS, 4 HDDs (1 SATA300, 3PATA), 1 FDD, 1 DVD-RW,
SeaSonic S12-430, Creative Audigy 2 ZS, bunch of USB devices connected (remote, WebCam, etc.)

TIA

Any number of things could be causing your rig to lock-up. Could be your HD - you should be able to get an app from your drive's manufacturer in order to run a diagnostic. Could be your videocard - try running 3dmark06 and updating the drivers.

You may also wish to try running the machine for a few days with only the essentials connected. Disconnect any non-essential USB devices and HDs. Also, disabled any unused components in the BIOS - firewire, JMicron, second ethernet, etc.

-phil

 

[barmaley]

Originally posted by: phile

Originally posted by: barmaley
Approximately every 24hrs my system freezes up and I have to reset the system. Black screen, all fans are running, no reaction on keyboard/mouse/usb devices interactions. I've run Prime95/Ortho test for 7-10 hours without single error/warning as well as Memtest. All the temperatures/voltages looks ok for me
core1 32-45C, core2 35-49C, MB 38-41C, GPU 48-51C everything on stock's speeds. Had a look in EventViewer and didn't find anything happened at the time closer than 2 hrs before freezing
I ran Everest in logging mode today, trying to catch something suspicious and also installed SoftIce and ran it in early boot mode in attempt to see if it can show anything but I rather doubt in any results.
I'm wondering is such behavior can be a result of some problems on PSU side? The reason I'm asking that I did have several hardly explainable things recently.
1. The overvoltage protection (Zener diod) on one of my HDD was blown away
2. For some time the system refused to start after complete power off (turning off the switch on the PSU) but it just disappeared (if I could manage to start the system and did only regular power offs (from the case's switch rather than PSU's switch) then it restarted just fine).

My system
C2D E6600@2.4GHz, P5W DH 1305, 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-667, GigaByte nVidia 7600GS, 4 HDDs (1 SATA300, 3PATA), 1 FDD, 1 DVD-RW,
SeaSonic S12-430, Creative Audigy 2 ZS, bunch of USB devices connected (remote, WebCam, etc.)

TIA

Any number of things could be causing your rig to lock-up. Could be your HD - you should be able to get an app from your drive's manufacturer in order to run a diagnostic. Could be your videocard - try running 3dmark06 and updating the drivers.

You may also wish to try running the machine for a few days with only the essentials connected. Disconnect any non-essential USB devices and HDs. Also, disabled any unused components in the BIOS - firewire, JMicron, second ethernet, etc.

-phil

Thanks,
I've already checked all my HDDs and Seagate's utility didn't find any problems. The VC drivers I have are the latest ones I didn't run 3dmark06 though but it looks like the system locks up when the only activity on video is the standard non-animated screensaver. Anyway I'll try to test the video and disable/disconnect other stuff gradually.
What do you think about power glitches? Can they be the reason? Though I didn't see a reboot - the most obvious evidence of power's problem.

 

[phile]

The best way to determine if it's a PSU issue is to try a different PSU. As I've suggested to others, go out and buy a new PSU from a store with a very liberal return policy.

-phil

 

[barmaley]

Originally posted by: phile
The best way to determine if it's a PSU issue is to try a different PSU. As I've suggested to others, go out and buy a new PSU from a store with a very liberal return policy.

-phil

Already bought but didn't try for a long run yet. Thanks for the help.

 

[hofan41]

finally got my brand new rig up and running last nite, everything works but not without a few headaches. on first boot i noticed mobo temps at 50c, with the side panel of my case wide open!

so i then took everything out, ripped the aluminum covers off the chipset heatsinks, reseated them with AS5 after cleaning them out, and added a 40mm fan on top of my SB heatsink (i'm guessing it's SB since it's the lower chipset =P)

big problem... when i tried adding my 7950gx2, it didn't have enough clearance because of the 40mm fan. how disappointed i was. what should i do with the fan now?

this motherboard feels very small after plopping that 7950gx2 in there. i tried adding one of those vantec pci slot coolers above the gx2, but once again there was no clearance as the RAM clips were in the way =/

they need to make bigger motherboards.

thanks to phile's advice somewhere in the middle of this thread i was able to OC my e6600 to 3.0ghz effortlessly.

 

[mikepaul]

Originally posted by: phile
1.35vcore is likely way too low for 400 FSB. My P5WDH/E6600 needs 1.5 just to POST at 400.

Couldn't that depend on the CPU in use? Unless this is part of my BIOS issues, I'm getting along OK on vCore set to AUTO...

http://www.mikepaul.com/CompStatus.jpg

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: hofan41
finally got my brand new rig up and running last nite, everything works but not without a few headaches. on first boot i noticed mobo temps at 50c, with the side panel of my case wide open!

so i then took everything out, ripped the aluminum covers off the chipset heatsinks, reseated them with AS5 after cleaning them out, and added a 40mm fan on top of my SB heatsink (i'm guessing it's SB since it's the lower chipset =P)

big problem... when i tried adding my 7950gx2, it didn't have enough clearance because of the 40mm fan. how disappointed i was. what should i do with the fan now?

this motherboard feels very small after plopping that 7950gx2 in there. i tried adding one of those vantec pci slot coolers above the gx2, but once again there was no clearance as the RAM clips were in the way =/

they need to make bigger motherboards.

thanks to phile's advice somewhere in the middle of this thread i was able to OC my e6600 to 3.0ghz effortlessly.

You need not worry about high mobo temps on this board. The sensor is located by the southbridge, which does run relatively hot.

-phil

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: mikepaul

Originally posted by: phile
1.35vcore is likely way too low for 400 FSB. My P5WDH/E6600 needs 1.5 just to POST at 400.

Couldn't that depend on the CPU in use? Unless this is part of my BIOS issues, I'm getting along OK on vCore set to AUTO...

http://www.mikepaul.com/CompStatus.jpg

I would tend to think so, yeah. The higher the clock, the more volts it's going to need. An E6600 at 400 is running 800MHz faster than a E6300 at 400.

-phil

 

[luckyinfil]

new computer with this mobo. Haven't installed anything yet but it posts. How do i install AHCI drivers? where can i find it? i want to take full advantage of ncq and sata ii so how would i go about doing so?

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: luckyinfil
new computer with this mobo. Haven't installed anything yet but it posts. How do i install AHCI drivers? where can i find it? i want to take full advantage of ncq and sata ii so how would i go about doing so?

If you haven't installed Windows, you'll need to pre-load the Intel Matrix Storage Manager driver from a floppy. You can get the latest makedisk fron Intel, here:

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts...ct_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2101&lang=eng

Choose OS, then scroll down to Utilities, Tools and Examples. First item. This floppy will contain drivers for several different chipsets, so when you are asked to load the driver from floppy, make sure you choose the ICH7R driver from the list. You may need to scroll down to find it.

-phil

 

[hofan41]

i was just wondering, phile, since I took your OC advice to get to 3ghz, my DDR2 is running at 666 to be 1:1 with the 333 fsb, does this mean the extra money I spent on ddr2-800 ram wasted since i'm only running it at ddr2-666? since you said you didn't notice any performance difference between running your ddr at 666 or 833 on 5:4 ratio, what exactly is the difference between having ddr-10000000 rated ram and having ddr-640 rated ram?

conversely, if you aren't planning on doing any OC'ing, would it be a waste to buy any ram that is rated higher than the default fsb?

 

[AlwaysFaithful]

Before I begin with my introduction I'd like to inform all of you that I have used the search function, I've tried to understand some of the technical jargon, but to be blatently honest with you I'm just not grasping all this techno-mumbo-jumbo jargon. Until this very moment I thought I knew a few things about computers.....boy was I wrong...


Now that we have that out of the way, I'll do the intro..

For starts, my names Joe, im new to the whole over clocking thing, i've tried to do as much research as possible, so let me unveil my system I've just recently finished purchasing that will be arriving shortly... (Btw, some pieces from my existing system will be moved over to the new system)...


New System Specs
------------------------
1.) Power Supply :: Thermaltake Toughpower 750watt Crossfire Certified
2.) Chassis :: Thermaltake Armor FullTower Liquid Cooled System
3.) Hard Drives :: 2x74gb RAPTOR Hard Drives
4.) Graphic Card :: ATI X800XT PCI-E Video Card
5.) Sound Card :: Soundblaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum Pro Soundcard
----------------
RECENTLY ORDERED AS OF TODAY
Since i just found out that Rev 302 of the BadAxe involves sodering and ect I decided to say screw that I'm not that technically inclined, I'll just buy a new one.... I decided to go with

Motherboard:: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ATX LGA775 975X DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN

Memory :: OCZ Platinum XTC REV.2 PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-15

PROCESSOR :: E6600 2.4gh Core 2 Duo Processor (ordered it last week, arrived today)

-----------------

The questions are as follows.

1.) The Liquid Cooling System that Comes WITH the Thermaltake Armor I am assuming will prove much more efficient as opposed to Air Cooling, is this true? *worried*

2.) I take it the AI Booster or whatever it is that comes with the ASUS motherboard (software) is useless for the most part? Is this true...

3.) Did I choose appropriate ram / motherboard combination?

4.) What kind of OC' speeds can I expect given the above specs?

5.) I also have a Northbridge Cooler from Thermaltake the Extreme Spirit II which should prove useful, - or - is the Northbridge ASUS cooler good enough?

Can someone please tell me (a step by step) method to achieve a DECENT over clock....


My original system was a
P4 3.4 Prescott LGA775, Thermaltake bigTyphoon cpu cooler, the extreme spirit II northbridge
2gb corsair xms 2 PC3200 memory.....
and I got it up to 3.7 b4 it would crash..

WIth the new system, should I expect faster speeds? :

-------------------------
Lifeless now free, you are not forgotten.

 

[Skott]

I'll take a stab at your questions. I'm still a newbie to OCing myself but I can answer some of them adequately I think. For the watercooling questions I suggest finding someone that knows way more than I.

The questions are as follows.

1.) The Liquid Cooling System that Comes WITH the Thermaltake Armor I am assuming will prove much more efficient as opposed to Air Cooling, is this true? *worried*

A)I'm no watercooling expert but I would think so. Obviously there are probably better aftermarket units that'll outperform it. I'll let the more knowledgeable chime in on whats the best watercooling units.


2.) I take it the AI Booster or whatever it is that comes with the ASUS motherboard (software) is useless for the most part? Is this true...

A) Its not totally useless but most serious overclockers prefer to do the settings manually. The AI Booster is better suited for light overclocks and beginners that dont know much.

3.) Did I choose appropriate ram / motherboard combination?

A)That RAM will work

4.) What kind of OC' speeds can I expect given the above specs?

A)There are no guarantees but generally speaking (in averages) the aircoolers are getting 3.4GHz-3.6GHz. Havent checked recently but I think the watercoolers are getting up to 4GHz stable with the right setup. There are so many varibles involved and no two people get the same exact overclocks for the most part even when using the same exact equipment. There are certain minimums you can reach but the maximums are often just plain luck sometimes.

5.) I also have a Northbridge Cooler from Thermaltake the Extreme Spirit II which should prove useful, - or - is the Northbridge ASUS cooler good enough?

A)Dont know anything about that cooler. my knowledge isnt that extensive. perhaps another can better answer it?

Can someone please tell me (a step by step) method to achieve a DECENT over clock....

A)There are guides availble. It really comes down to just plain toying around and luck at times. Its been discussed in this thread before though as far as general procedures go. Also there is an excellent guide over at XS website. I reccomend reading that site as well as this site for any and all info.

I would suggest starting with a 333fsb and 666MHz (4-4-4-12) memory settings and go from there. Thats about the highest safe/guaranteed (if such can be said) overclock you can do before changing voltage and more involved things. Basically after 337fsb is where the really serious overclocking technique begins.

 

[phile]

I'll add to Skott's fine response with a suggested FSB 333 config:

Advanced / CPU config
-------------------------
C1E: Disabled
Speedstep: Disabled

Advanced / Jumperfree config:
-------------------------
AI Overclock: Manual
FSB: 333
DRAM: DDR2-666 (no mem divider) or DDR2-833 (uses 4:5 divider)
VCORE: 1.3v - 1.35v (start at 1.3 and bump one step at a time until machine is stable)
VDIMM: 2.1v

Advanced / Chipset config:
-------------------------
SPD: Disabled
TIMINGS: 4-4-4-12
HYPERPATH 3: Disabled

All other settings in the BIOS can be left at default.

To test your system's stability, run the Orthos Blended test for a couple of hours minimum.
http://sp2004.fre3.com/beta/beta2.htm

-phil

 

[phile]

Originally posted by: hofan41
i was just wondering, phile, since I took your OC advice to get to 3ghz, my DDR2 is running at 666 to be 1:1 with the 333 fsb, does this mean the extra money I spent on ddr2-800 ram wasted since i'm only running it at ddr2-666? since you said you didn't notice any performance difference between running your ddr at 666 or 833 on 5:4 ratio, what exactly is the difference between having ddr-10000000 rated ram and having ddr-640 rated ram?

conversely, if you aren't planning on doing any OC'ing, would it be a waste to buy any ram that is rated higher than the default fsb?

Sure, running a conroe at stock (FSB 266) only requires PC-4200 (DDR2-533) mem, but there are several reasons to buy PC-6400 (DDR2-800). First, you can run PC-6400 at its rated speed using a memory divider. This won't dramatically improve overall system performance, but will improve performance in memory intensive applications. Second, you have a much better variety of high-end, low-latency memory when going with PC-6400, over PC-4200. Third, if you plan to underclock PC-6400 memory (i.e. run it at a lower than rated speed), you can usually tighten the timings. And fourth, PC-6400 will provide you lots of headroom should you eventually decide to overclock.

-phil